Yep trashcansinatra housing was relatively cheaper in the past - that said as has already been pointed out things are allot more expensive these days government fee wise etc. Then you have the increased costs of OHS. Sure many of these costs aren't on existing property stock but the very fact that it costs more to build because of these things also drags the cost of existing property up. The other thing which has also been mentioned is peoples expectations are higher and they want all the mod cons built into new houses. The only way this is likely to change is if: 1) Peoples expectations of their first home are lowered to be more realistic. 2) Government fees/red-tape is reduced.
Lastly just because housing had a particular wage ratio now or in the past does not mean that it will stay that way or revert to what it used to. Reality is that house you bought in 1983 was infinitely more expensive that those further in the past as they built their houses - so things change!
